Project Seven extensions installed but not "showing" in Dreamweaver

[MarvinHeston]

Intro

I'm a long time user of Dreamweaver and Extensions by Project Seven.

I maintain 3 websites for my photography business

I'm also really frickin old and not interested in having to learn new software.

Problem:

With a recent Dreamwear upgrade the Extension disappeared from Dreamweaver.  If I look in Extension Manager the apps as still there and Active, but are not findable in the app.  I reached out to Project Seven in late November and Gerry Jacobsen replied with the following.  

Subject: Re: Have you run into this?

Hi Marv,

Yes, that indicates a corruption in one of the Dreamweaver menu xml files.

See this tech note for instructions on how to fix and work around this issue:

https://www.projectseven.com/products/ex-man/info.htm#cc-issue

Be sure to follow all of the steps.

Regards,

Gerry Jacobsen, PVII

Unfortunately, I was swamped in Nov and Dec and just went to fix the problem, and as many of you know Project Seven is now gone, along with their website.

Questions:

1. Did anyone have this same problem and "copy the referenced" webpage with the solution?  Or remember the steps to restore the items (No it's not on the WayBack site: http://web.archive.org/ ).

2. Does anyone know where I might find the XML file for Project Seven - I have done a search in /program files/adobe and program files x86 and a million XML files come up - I don't want to delete the wrong one.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Marv

[Nancy OShea]

See my reply from Dec 4th in this other topic:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/dreamweaver-discussions/has-anyone-got-the-documentation-for-the-foll...

Hope that helps.

[MarvinHeston]

Thank you.  Unfortunately, that is missing the info that I need.  It was a work-around for a corruption caused by an Adobe upgrade.

M

[Nancy OShea]

1. Use the Adobe Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/kb/elements-installation-error-CC-cleaner-tool.html

2. Reinstall DW CC 21.3 from Creative Cloud Desktop App.

3. Install DMX Zone's free Extension Manager to manage your PVII extensions.

Hope that helps.

[zztop123]

Hi Marv,

Thanks for making this post as it helped me immensily to fix my missing P-7 extensions via the Adobe Cleaner tool.  It was a very lengthy process, but I have everything working now.  I can kick myself for not having copied the online manuals before the site went offline, but at least I made some notes here and there which have helped me quite a bit.

[BenPleysier]

I can kick myself for not having copied the online manuals before the site went offline, but at least I made some notes here and there which have helped me quite a bit.

By @zztop123

What actions will you take when Dreamweaver inevitably becomes obsolete? 

[zztop123]

Not sure what I would do.  I have too many projects keeping me very occupied.  I probably don't have the time to learn another software platform.  In the meantime I'll keep using Dreamweaver and hope that if Dreamweaver is no longer supported, that Adobe replaces it with something better.

[MarvinHeston]

Totally agree.  I'm not a web developer. I have 4 sites of my own that I maintain, and my interest in learning something new is a hard No from me.

[Nancy OShea]

I'll keep using Dreamweaver and hope that Adobe replaces it with something better.

By @zztop123

===========

That's highly unlikely given what happened with the demise of Muse, Brackets, Business Catalyst, Contribute, Edge & GoLive before them. Customers were left holding the bag, scrambling to find new solutions.  

Adobe has divested all interest in the desktop web software space. It's too costly and yields too little profit.

Adobe has no other products with which to replace Dreamweaver, except these aimed at corporate customers who spend thousands of dollars annually.

Adobe Experience Manager (Digital Assets Manager) - https://business.adobe.com/products/experience-manager/assets.html

Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento e-Commerce) - https://business.adobe.com/products/magento/magento-commerce.html

Don't be complacent.  My advice to everyone is to plan ahead & find other products you can use alongside Dreamweaver. Have a solid exit strategy in place for when you need it.

CODE EDITORS:
-- Bootstrap Studio (drag & drop webpage builder)  - https://bootstrapstudio.io/
-- Codespaces (free, browser-based editor) - https://github.com/features/codespaces
-- Notepad++ (free) - https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
-- Nova (Mac only, formerly called Coda) - https://nova.app/
-- Pinegrow (visual editor) - https://pinegrow.com/
-- Sublime Text - http://www.sublimetext.com/
-- Visual Studio Code (free) - https://code.visualstudio.com/
-- Wappler ~ Visual Web App Builder - https://wappler.io/

============
ONLINE SITE BUILDING PLATFORMS:

-- Duda - https://www.duda.co/

-- Squarespace - https://www.squarespace.com/
-- Webflow - https://webflow.com
-- Wix - https://www.wix.com/
-- WordPress (open source) - https://wordpress.org/
Check with your hosting provider, they may have their own site building platform you can use.

[BenPleysier]

You're absolutely right, @Nancy OShea —complacency is a luxury we can't afford. Dreamweaver’s uncertain future, compounded by Adobe’s retreat from desktop web tools (Muse, Brackets, Business Catalyst, GoLive, etc.), makes it imperative to have a solid exit strategy.

To add to your advice:

Be Wary of Platform-Locked Tools

Many modern site builders (e.g. Wix, Squarespace, Webflow) lock users into proprietary hosting and code structures. If the company folds or changes its terms, your site—and its portability—could vanish overnight. Worse, some tools compile code in ways that prevent manual editing (like Muse did), leaving you unable to tweak HTML/CSS directly.

Lessons from the PVII Extension Crisis

The recent disappearance of Project Seven and its website left many Dreamweaver users scrambling. Even though PVII extensions still show as installed, they’ve vanished from the UI due to XML corruption. Users like @MarvinHeston and @pegprice have been forced to reverse-engineer fixes, such as restoring insertbar.xml from backups. Others are struggling with broken extension managers like DMXzone’s NW.js-based app, which now shows blank screens or cryptic errors

What You Can Do Now

Here’s a practical roadmap:

Use Dreamweaver While It Works

• Back up your configuration files regularly (especially insertbar.xml)
• Keep a local archive of all extension manuals and assets
• Use DMXzone’s Extension Manager cautiously—its NW.js shell may be unstable on some platforms

Prepare for Transition

• Wappler is a strong successor, built by DMXzone, with support for modern workflows and full code access
• Bootstrap Studio, Pinegrow, and Visual Studio Code offer flexible, transferable codebases
• Avoid tools that abstract away your code or force hosting lock-Think Portability

• Choose platforms that let you export clean HTML/CSS/JS
• Avoid compilers or proprietary formats that obscure your source code
• Host your assets independently when possible

---

The PVII situation is a cautionary tale. Let’s use it as fuel to future-proof our workflows and advocate for tools that respect user autonomy.

[Nancy OShea]

HTMX anyone?  Short learning curve, lots of possibilities.

https://htmx.org/examples/

[pegprice]

Did you use DMX Zone Extension Manager? I am having trouble with it, when I launch it shows a blank screen. I have contacted DMX Zone and haven't heard back. I have installed my PVII extensions using Anistasiy's Extension Manager. I ran Unified Plugin Installer Agent command line basics in Terminal. When I entered the command to list plugins (./UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent --list all), they all showed up. They also show up in my CC application, Manage plugins. In Dreamweaver, under the menu item "Insert" Project VII appears with the arrow, but when I hover it, nothing shows.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you.

[zztop123]

Hi pegprice,

Yes, I used the DMXzone Extension Manager to re-install my P-7 extensions.  I'm using Win-11 and noticed that you are on a Mac.  Not sure why you would get a blank screen.  I just opened DMXzone extension manager and the screen looks ghosted.  I hope this doesn't mean that it has become non-functional.  I do know that on a Windows platform some applications stop working when a Windows update rolls out.

[pegprice]

Thank you for replying. Yes, I am on a Mac. Hopefully I will get this figured out.

[PatriceAnn]

Please keep us up to date on the solution because it may be a DMX issue and will affect all DW users of P7 and WA extensions. 

[pegprice]

I just did something and it seems to be a partial fix. In my user library>>application support>>adobe>>dreamweaver 2021>>en_US>>Configuration>>objects>>insertbar.xml

I replaced that insertbar.xml with one from my daily backups. I grabbed one from 2022 and installed into the above location while Dreamweaver was not running. Relaunched Dreamweaver, it is still blank from the Insert menu>>Studio VII, however the plugins are now showing up in the Insert panel! 

So I am partway there. Will still monkey around and see if I can make any more progress. It is something about that Insert menu . . .  I did reach out to DMX Zone's facebook page. They are in Denmark so 8 hours ahead of me. 

Thank you everyone for your replies and suggestions. 

[pegprice]

P.S. I just launched DMX Extension Manager again (wishing, wishing) and discovered this. What the heck is "nwjs"??? It should read "about DMXzone Extension Manager."

[BenPleysier]

NWJS stands for Node Webkit JavaScript. It is an open source framework for developing desktop applications using web technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The NWJS framework essentially allows developers to build desktop apps with frontend interfaces powered by web UI frameworks.

[pegprice]

Ben, the application launches with a blank screen. I have reached out to DMXzone and thus far heard nothing back. 

[PatriceAnn]

Mac Time Machine might be worth a try.

[pegprice]

PatriceAnn, thank you, I did retrieve the DMXzone Extention Manager from my 2020 backup. It is the same version currrently offered, and presents with the same blank screen. If I remember correctly, I believe that is why I ended up downloading Anastasiy's Extension Manager. I used to use DMXzone's and I think perhaps after a MacOS upgrade, that is when it stopped functioning properly. Still hoping to hear from DMXzone . . .

[PatriceAnn]

I am afraid to check my DMXzone extension now. I have about 40 sites dependent on extensions. My first step today will be do do a master back up in config. Thank you for bringing this to attention and please keep us up to date. 

[Nancy OShea]

DISCLAIMER: I haven't used extensions in many years. And I don't own a Mac computer. So take this with a grain of salt.

Old extensions were built to work on older computers. Rosetta 2 enables a Mac with Apple silicon chips to use apps that were built for Macs with Intel processors.  See Apple Support article below.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102527

[pegprice]

Thanks for this, Nancy. My pesonal case—my Mac is Intel-based 2019). I remain hopefull I will hear from DMXzone.

[pegprice]

Patrice Ann, you are welcome. Actually at about 3:30 a.m. this morning . . . I had the thought that before I experienced the minor success (having the extensions appear in the Insert Panel), I am not positive prior to copying an older version of  insertbar.xml, if the extensions did in fact appear in the Insert Panel. I know they didn't appear in the Insert menu (that is the only place I typically look), and I also checked under Window>>Extensions>>Project VII and they weren't there. I can't honestly remember now if I checked the Insert Panel. I thought about removing the insertbar.xml that is there now, and put back the original one, and see if that actually works (in light of the extensions do appear in the Creative Cloud app, I know they're installed), but I'm afraid to . . . I had never used the Insert Panel before to access the extensions—didn't even know that was an option so I am betting I didn't check that—because I always used the Insert Menu.

Project VII was such a stand-up company with exquisite products and marvelous customer service. It was so unlike them to just vanish without a word. Dang it.